Poltergeist
by BlakDawn
Summary: a young man wakes up on a pseudo-medieval-European world with magic. About as original as it gets, well except for the slavery, and the terran dominion, and a whole lot of other things.


Jester groaned, his chest heavy and arms and legs numb, his thoughts fluttered this way and that, the headache making it all but impossible to think straight. Around him he heard people, though their voices were distant and to indistinct to make out. He tried moving, only for someone to push down his flailing limbs.

Slowly his thoughts became clearer, and his senses sharpened enough that he could hear the people move around him

"ughh" he tried talking only to let out another groan, so Jester tried to open his eyes, as soon as he did he screwed them closed again, the light was almost blinding and his headache flared

"hold still, stranger, those are some nasty injuries you got there, Ell patched you up as best she could, but those wounds were nasty, I'm amazed you survived" Jester began feeling the pinpricks of pain all over his body, mostly on his arms and legs, but a few on his chest as well.

Slowly Jester opened his eyes, allowing his eyes to become accustomed to the light, though he couldn't make out where he was, Jester estimated it was high noon, or close to it.

"where am I?" Jester's voice was slurred, almost stumbling from word to word

"my camp, about 20 Hui south from Ferdonal, I found you a way back, next to some smoking wreckage, I got you and whatever else I could salvage" by now Jester could make out his mysterious saviour, he was a tall, physically imposing man, probably, given that Jester was on his back, it made the man seem a lot taller than he was, within a few seconds his vision focused form blurry indistinct outlines to near perfect, his saviour was about 30, a lean man, but his muscles were clearly defined, the man reached out a hand and Jester used it to pull himself up, he nodded at the man

"thanks, for, well, rescuing me, I guess" the man chuckled slightly and slapped him on the shoulder

"any time. What's your name, son?" Jester opened his mouth to reply, but realised that nothing was there, only the word Jester stuck in his mind

"I...I don't know, my real name in any case, Jester, that's the word that sticks in my head"

"Jester huh, like a court jester?"

"I guess so"

"My names Buik, and that girl behind me is Ell" Jester moved slightly to the side and indeed, there was a girl, no more than 16 sitting on a log tending to a small open fire, even as he looked she glanced his way and then quickly averted her gaze

"ahh, don't worry about her, she'll warm up to you soon enough, she's always a little tense around strangers, saved us a few times hasn't it?" she nodded mutely, not even turning around.

"so where are you from Jester? I don't see many people on this road"

"I don't know, all my memories are a blur, until I woke up, then" he trailed off with a shrug

"maybe you hit your head hard, I've heard it happen before, I think, Ell's the expert" he sent her a questioning look, but she was already away, searching a small backpack

"you know, son, most people would be congratulating me on such a well trained slave, you really mustn't remember anything" if Jester had been drinking something he felt certain he would choke, something, primal, inside of him rose up at the thought of slavery, it made him gag, Buik, slapped him hard on the back when he started coughing

"you alright son? maybe you should lie down a bit, wouldn't want you dying after putting so much work in to you" Jester barely heard the words, all he could think of was _slave_, was that why he had been patched up, just another opportunity for a quick credit. Immediately, or at least it felt like that to him, he had formulated an escape plan, much as he would like to free the girl as well, he knew that she would slow him down and he rationalised that one free slave was better than none.

And then he was off, with speed he didn't know he possessed he raced for the tree, for safety, he didn't bother climbing them, until he was out of sight of the camp, then he climbed, or rather he watched his body climb, it was rather like an out-of-body experience, and soon he was at he top of the tree, and started leaping from tree to tree, and then he heard the branch give way beneath him, and suddenly his limbs were flailing, feeling a branch brush past for just an instant.

When he heard his body hit forest floor with sickening cracks he knew it was the end, his life was forfeit, but better to die free than live in bonds.


End file.
